Maillardville is a community on the south slope of the city of

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada.

History

In 1889, Frank Ross and James McLaren opened what would become Maillardville, a $350,000, modern

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

on the north bank of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

. By 1908, a mill town of 20 houses, a store, post office, hospital, office block, barber shop, pool hall and a

Sikh temple A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

had grown around the mill. A mill manager's residence was built that later became

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

.Fraser Mills
History
Retrieved 15 February 2009 A second mill manager's residence was built in 1909 and is now known as Mackin House, a historic house museum operated by the Coquitlam Heritage Society. In 1909, Ross and McLaren, in search of workers for the Canadian Western Lumber Company, recruited a contingent of 110

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

mill workers from

Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,763,186 in 2016) (french: Est de l'Ontario) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River. It sh ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Approximately 40 French Canadian families settled in present-day Maillardville in 1909, with another contingent arriving in June 1910. Named for Father Edmond Maillard, a young

Oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

from France, it became the largest

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

centre west of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

.City of Coquitlam
History and Heritage
Retrieved 15 February 2009 Similarly, in the early 1900s, many

Punjabis The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...

came to work in the mills and settled on the south slope of Coquitlam. In 1971, the City of Coquitlam and the Village of

Fraser Mills Fraser Mills was a municipality in British Columbia on the north bank of the Fraser River, incorporated in 1913, but since amalgamated with the City of Coquitlam. History Located on the northern shore of the Fraser River, the area was originally ...

were amalgamated, which gave the city a larger tax base. The mill closed in 2001, and is now rezoned into a residential area. Maillardville's past is recognized today in street names, the Francophone education system and

French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French-immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects s ...

programs, French-language

guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

and

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

, and celebrations such as

Festival du Bois Festival du Bois is an annual Francophone festival held in the Maillardville neighbourhood of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. This year, Festival du Bois will be held from March 24 to 26. Produced by Societe francophone de Maillardville, the f ...

.CitySoup.ca
Coquitlam Regional History
Retrieved 15 February 2009 Maillardville celebrated its 100th birthday in 2009. In 2014, the City of Coquitlam updated the Maillardville neighbourhood plan. The city anticipates a population growth of 6,000 over the next two decades.

Geography

Maillardville is bordered by Austin Avenue to the north and

Lougheed Highway Lougheed is an Irish variant of a surname of Scottish origins, meaning ''head of the lake''. Lougheed or Loughead may refer to: Places * Lougheed, Alberta, a Canadian village * Lougheed Island, Nunavut, Canada * Lougheed Highway, part of British ...

to the south. To the west it is flanked by Blue Mountain Street, while to the east it is bordered by Mundy Road. The

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

of Maillardville is situated in the southwest corner of the neighbourhood, on Brunette Avenue between Lougheed Highway and Woolridge Street.

Demographics

Population

Ethnicity

Language

Media

''They Dream'', a Canadian feature-length film, set in and around Maillardville, including Place des Arts and Mackin House Museum, was shot over the summer of 2012. Written and directed by Vancouver filmmaker Gord Stanfield, ''They Dream'' is the story of a 20-year-old art student, David Dubois, his love affair with a mysterious woman Lisa Reese, and his tragic past. Jean Ory reminds David he can't escape the truth. Lisa and Jean were lifetime residents of Maillardville. ''They Dreams lead cast includes Jason Mireau, Delia Tatiana and Moishe Teichman.

Notable people

Lucille Starr Lucille Marie Raymonde Savoie (May 13, 1938September 4, 2020), known professionally as Lucille Starr, was a Canadian singer, songwriter, and yodeler originally from Saint Boniface, Manitoba. She was best known for her 1964 hit single, "The Frenc ...

, who was inducted to the

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. It is located in downtown Merritt, ...

in 1987 began her musical career in Maillardville with the group ''Les Hirondelles''. A street in Coquitlam "Lucille Starr Way" is named in her honour. *

Shawn Farquhar Shawn Farquhar (born June 7, 1962) is a Canadian magician and illusionist notable for his title as the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" from the International Federation of Magic Societies. His awards include being the only magician in hist ...

, magician

References

External links

Maillardville.com

{{Coquitlam Neighbourhoods in Coquitlam Ethnic enclaves in British Columbia